1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mud flap systems used by vehicles and more particularly to a mud flap system that is releasably engageable with the opposite side portions of a vehicle tow assembly in a manner that disposes one or more mud flaps behind the vehicle's wheels and substantially across a length that extends between the opposite sides of the tow assembly in order to protect a trailer and its contents from road debris.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different motor vehicles are used to tow trailers of various types from one location to another. Often times, the trailers and their cargo incur damage due to rocks and other road debris that are projected upwardly and rearwardly by the vehicle as it travels down the road. The damage caused to the trailer and its cargo may vary from chipped paint to serious structural damage.
It is known in the automotive industry that mud flaps can be useful for deflecting rocks and road debris that are projected by a moving vehicle. However, most mud flaps that are installed on vehicles as original equipment may be too small to adequately deflect rocks and debris. Moreover, mud flaps are typically positioned immediately behind the wheel of a vehicle and neglect the open space between the rear wheels. Oftentimes rocks and other road debris will be projected upwardly in the direction of the vehicle's centerline, missing the side-mounted mud flaps entirely. Moreover, the positioning of typical mud flaps directly behind the rearward wheels will not typically deflect rocks or other debris that are projected at a low angle of trajectory. Such rocks and debris will typically pass just beneath the mud flaps and continue upwardly and rearwardly until they strike an object behind the vehicle, such as the trailer or its contents.
Prior art mud flap systems have recognized the desirability of moving the mud flaps closer to the rear bumper of a vehicle in order to increase the effectiveness of the mud flaps. The prior art has also recognized that it may be undesirable to permanently attach mud flaps to the rear bumper of a vehicle or any point adjacent thereto. Accordingly, mud flap systems, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,121,944, 5,181,734, 6,076,842, and 6,375,223 were developed to be releasably engageable with the vehicle's tow assembly or a tongue frame member of the trailer being towed. However, each of these systems only places a pair of narrow mud flaps directly in line with the rear wheels of the vehicle. None of the prior art systems provide a manner of deflecting rocks and other road debris that travel upwardly from the ground along the vehicle's centerline. Moreover, each of these systems provide elongated support arms that extend outwardly from a central mounting point and support the mud flaps at their distal ends. This produces an undesirable weakness and lack of stability to the systems where the support arms are formed as a single cantilever arm from thin or lightweight materials. Air currents and other forces acting upon the mud flaps, as well as the accumulation of ice and other debris thereon, further pose the risk of undue movement of the system during use or structural fatigue along the support arms. Finally, the prior art systems fail to provide a manner of adjustably positioning the mud flaps with respect to one another, making such systems difficult for use with a wide range of vehicles that may have tow assemblies of different sizes and configurations.
Accordingly, what is needed is a novel mud flap system that is releasably attachable to the tow assembly of a vehicle in a manner that permits at least a portion of one or more mud flaps to be disposed along the center line of a vehicle, between its rearward wheels. Moreover, such a system should provide a relatively stable mounting system that resists fatigue and movement during use. Such a system should also provide a level of adjustability in the manner in which it is coupled to the tow assembly so that it may be used with a wide variety of vehicle types and configurations.